U.S. equity futures were firmer in early trading on Tuesday as investors digested a report that the U.S. President had told aides he would be open to pulling out of the Iran conflict without having substantially reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
By 06:32 ET (10:32 GMT), the futures contracts indicated a stronger open: the Dow futures contract was up 373 points, or 0.8%; S&P 500 futures had risen 50 points, or 0.8%; and Nasdaq 100 futures had increased by 165 points, or 0.7%.
Notable premarket movers
- Energy: Chevron oscillated around the flatline as the ongoing conflict in Iran kept oil prices elevated above pre-conflict levels. Occidental Petroleum traded higher. Oilfield services firms SLB and Baker Hughes recorded modest gains, and refiners Marathon Petroleum and Valero Energy were also up.
- Consumer goods: McCormick surged after reports indicated the company is in advanced talks with Unilever to combine McCormick with Unilever's food business, creating what has been reported as a roughly $60 billion food company.
- Technology: Microsoft ticked up in line with broader technology strength after the company said it planned to invest more than $1 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in Thailand over the next two years.
- Apparel: Nike shares rose ahead of the retailer's quarterly results, which are due after the closing bell on Wall Street.
- Biotech: PepGen shares declined following the release of clinical data from a trial of a treatment for patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1; analysts cited in coverage described the results as mixed.
- Healthcare software: Phreesia fell sharply after the company cut its full-year revenue forecast and several brokerages responded by downgrading their ratings on the stock.
- Real estate / REIT: Service Properties Trust dropped after announcing a $500 million share offering.
Market participants continued to evaluate developments in the Middle East for their potential impact on energy markets and inflation expectations. Within equity sectors, company-specific news - from deal chatter around McCormick to guidance revisions at Phreesia - was driving stock-level volatility ahead of the regular session.
Is CVX a bargain right now? The article referenced a valuation tool that uses multiple industry models to evaluate stocks, including Chevron, but did not provide a valuation or recommendation within this report.
Time-stamped market moves and the corporate headlines above reflect conditions and reports available at the specified premarket time. No additional forward-looking claims are made beyond those company statements and market moves reported here.